Billings at Architecture Firms Declined for 30th Consecutive Month

 

Courtesy of AIA

While there is growing optimism that billings may grow in the near future, business conditions at many architecture firms remain tenuous, with relief still a long way off.

Business conditions remain weak at architecture firms in all regions of the country. Firms in the Northeast continue to report the highest scores, but they have been weakening every month since minimal growth was reported in April. The score increased in the South for the fifth month in a row in July. It’s approaching 50 for the first time in more than two years.

This month’s AIA special questions followed up on questions about the timing of project design phases. Survey respondents reported that the largest share of their projects (42 percent) have a design phase (defined as lasting from the awarding of the design contract to the completion of the construction documents) that lasts less than six months, while an additional 24 percent of projects have a design phase typically lasting between six and nine months.

Small firms are much more likely to have shorter design phases than large firms, with 59 percent of projects at firms with less than $250,000 in annual billings having design phases of less than six months, compared to just 23 percent of projects at firms with annual billings of $5 million or more. Projects at firms with an institutional specialization also tend to have a slightly longer design phase, with nearly half (47 percent) of projects at those firms having a design phase lasting between six and 12 months.

– Courtesy of AIA